


Gone 500 Lightyears Before The Quintant Is Done

by StarrBryte



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Everybody's homesick, Gen, I headcanon that Krolia has a good singing voice, Keith has a good singing voice, Krolia is a tough cookie but she's a tough cookie with a heart that's broken, Road trip songs, Team as Family, and that Keith's dad had a taste for the oldies, no beta we die like men, sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 01:46:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15984974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarrBryte/pseuds/StarrBryte
Summary: Sing-alongs are a good way to pass the time, ignoring the fact that time is a construct and space is endless and homesickness might just be contagious. (Season 7)





	Gone 500 Lightyears Before The Quintant Is Done

**Author's Note:**

> I headcanon'd a really long time ago that Krolia had a taste for really old country music. That her favorite singer ever was Willie Nelson. Then I headcanon'd her singing "Good Morning America" to baby!Keith and got really, really sad.
> 
> I might make this part of a series because Jeremy Shada sang almost constantly when he was in Adventure Time, there are so many songs that go really well with Voltron characters, and the plot bunnies like to breed while I'm at work.
> 
> I apologize if Krolia seems a little out of characters, but while she might be a bit stoicky, she's also kind. And I like it when stoicky people show their gooey, sappy interiors to the ones they like. (And I also really like the thought of Coran and Krolia being friends).
> 
> Songs:  
> Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver  
> Good Morning America by Willie Nelson

It was after listening to Coran's enthusiastic belting of old Altean songs (often times joined in by Allura or Romelle or both with equal amounts of zeal) for almost an hour that Lance finally lost his patience.

“Alright! That's it! I can't take anymore! Time to change the channel! Let's hear some Earth songs!” He snapped. There was a moment of silence where the group seemed to savor the sudden quiet.

“I would like to hear some Earth songs!” Allura chimed in.

“Yes, I'm sure they are lovely!” Romelle piped up.

“Aaaawww but I was just about to start the song about the 5200 Altean Kings.” Coran groaned, “That one was always a crack-up!”

“Maybe later Coran.” Shiro comforted.

“I have a song.” Krolia suddenly said.

“Oh no.” Keith muttered over the com. 

“You know Earth songs?” Hunk asked.

“Of course she does Hunk.” Pidge put in, “She was on Earth for what, four, five years?”

“Seven.” Krolia said, a smile in her voice, “And Keith's father had one hell of a set up.”

“So what type of songs do you like?” Hunk asked, “Are you gonna sing some?”

“There were a few favorites I sang to Keith when he was a baby...” Krolia said thoughtfully.

“And you don't have to sing them now!” Keith protested.

“Aaaawww is Mama Krolia gonna sing some of Keithy-weithy's favorite lullabys?” Lance teased.

“Laaaaannnnceee...” Keith growled.

“Boys.” Krolia warned. There was silence for a moment before Krolia made a soft, pleased sound.

“I think I remember this one... It goes something like...”

“Kroliaaaaa.” Keith groaned.

“Almost heaven...” Krolia sang.

“Mom I swear..!”

“West Virginia....” She continued.

“And that song never made sense to me because we lived in TEXAS!” Keith snapped.

“Blue Ridge Mountains... Come on Keith I know you know this one...” Krolia teased softly.

“I think I know this one!” Pidge piped up.

“Shenandoah River...” Pidge and Krolia sang.

“Life is old here, older than the trees...” Hunk joined in.

“Younger than the Mountains, C'mon Keith!”Shiro piped in.

“Fine...” Keith grumbled, “Blowing like a breeze!”

“Take me hoooooome~!” The five humans and one galra sang, belting at the top of their lungs, because Krolia remembered roadtrips in an old red pick-up truck, the smell of fuel and dust and human sweat and the crackle of the radio, “Country Rooooaaads~ To the plaaaaaaace I beloooong~!”

“Garrison Texas!” Hunk yelled enthusiastically to much laughter.

“Mountain momma~”Krolia continued, “Take me hooome~ Country Rooaaad~!”

“Aaah I can only remember the first verse!” Hunk groaned, “That is an OLD song.”

“Sadly I was never very good at remembering the lyrics beyond the first verse and chorus either.” Krolia said.

“That is a lovely song.” Allura said, “I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing Earth again.”

“I am...” Krolia said, “I really am...”

“You really don't remember the second verse?” Keith asked, sounding confused, “But Dad used to sing that verse all the time. I think it reminded him of you.”

There was a long silence in response.

“Krolia?” Keith asked, worry clear over the open comm.

“Sing it for me?” Krolia asked suddenly, a strange breathless quality to her voice, “What was it?”

“Oh! Ummmm....” Keith cleared his throat in embarrassment. This was the point where someone should have mentioned that they were still broadcasting to the other Lions. That everyone could hear them. This weirdly intimate moment between mother and son, widow, orphan and the man that connected them. No one said a word as Keith cleared his throat again.

“I think it went something like... All of my memories... Gather around her...” His voice was off-key with nerves but the listening silence was almost desperate and no one made a sound, “Miner's lady, stranger to blue water...” His voice got stronger as memory came back, a strange note of half-remembered longing making the notes seem to curl into a texan drawl just so, as if his voice were trying to mimic someone else, “Dark and dusty, painted on the sky... Taste of Moonshine a teardrop in my eye...”

The others joined in on the chorus again only this time the realization of what the song meant made it softer. It made Allura's heart ache for Altea to listen to the longing in their voices. The Earthlings were going back to the home they missed so desperately. Even Krolia counted among them. Earth was the place she had planned to stay forever, guarding it and the Blue Lion. Earth was where she had built a life. Created a family. Created Keith.

There was a moment of subdued quiet once the chorus trailed off before Pidge briskly shook herself and claps her hands.

“Okay! Time to break the emo mood in here, Lance play Despacito!”

The resounding outraged squawking from Lance, some of which was a garbled mix of Cuban slurs, grammatically incorrect Galran (as Hunk loudly tried to correct him), Altean cursing and english, effectively broke the mood and everyone was laughing again.

**SIX MONTHS LATER ******

********

********

The cemetery in Plaht City was miraculously one of the few places in the area untouched by the Galra. It was a circle of green surrounding the quiet stones and, except for the hand-wavey uncertain ten years of time passing, that one particular stone hadn't changed a bit. 

Krolia had dressed up for the occasion, her Blade uniform clean and sharp, hair groomed just so. She was even wearing a little make-up, eye-liner making her eyes even sharper with bright dots of color the same shade as her under layer at the corners, the red on her lips standing out brightly against her skin. Even her claws had been painted dark plum with an iridescent finish that made them sparkle. Keith had been a little shocked.

“How do I look?” Krolia had asked, wiggling her fingers.

“Pretty.” Keith had blurted, blushing a little before clearing his throat, “I didn't know you...”

“I used to more often when I lived here. Before you were born.” Krolia said quickly, “Can't a girl groom herself for her mate?” Her eyes were suspiciously bright, her voice wavering just a touch. Keith smiled for her and took her hand, petting one of her claws with his thumb, marveling at the smoothness of the varnish. 

“Of course.” He said.

Where she had gotten the fresh-cut flowers Keith wasn't about to ask. They were pretty and smelled nice. Krolia liked them, from the way she kept touching the petals and breathing them in. 

When she saw the stone, with the name and the dates, so simple and unadorned, her strength gave out. She knelt on the grass and just sat, staring. 

“I know he was afraid for me.” She whispered, reaching out to touch the name at the top of the marker, “There were a few missions that went bad, right after I went back to the Blade. He had my blade. There was no way he wouldn't have known how close to death I came. I wonder if the bottom of his heart fell out as well. I wonder if he felt he should have tried harder to make me stay.”

“You both were a lot alike.” Keith said, “He knew it was useless to try. Not for something as important as this.” Krolia gave a tiny snort and traced the letters idly.

“Kolivan tried to convince me to do a follow up to Earth.” She admitted, “You would have been six at the time. There were some children born during deep-cover missions and then brought into hiding. Seeing them hurt too much for me to stay and he knew that. He tried to get me to go back to you. At least for a little while. Long enough for me to report on the status of the Blue Lion.” She leaned forward to press her forehead against the cool stone, closing her eyes.

“Why didn't you?” Keith asked. His voice was even. He had grown so much in the two years he had spent with her. There was no blame, just a vague curiosity. As if he would accept a 'For the mission' response as easily as an 'I don't know'.

“There was no one reason.” She said, “And it wasn't as if Kolivan was giving me the option directly. There were a handful of missions available for someone of my skill set. Three were temporary infiltration and extraction. One was a quick yet dangerous snatch grab. One was deep-cover. One was for reconnaissance at a very familiar set of co-ordinance.” Her lips quirked in a smile, “I panicked and grabbed the long term mission. I still don't know if I was afraid that you would reject me or if I was afraid you wouldn't. Maybe I was afraid I would never leave and that would put you in even more danger.” 

“Mom...”

“I forced you from my thoughts. I trusted he would take care of you. I trusted in Earth being so very far away from the war. I trusted that the Blue Lion would hear my plea and bury herself so deep into the groundwater of the planet that no instrument of the Galra would find her. I prayed to gods I didn't believe in that your proximity to her would keep you safe and then I buried myself in my work. I forced you from my thoughts, but never from my heart...” Krolia trailed off, leaning back on her heels, her eyes far away.

“I hear his voice, in the morning hour he calls me...” Krolia hummed under her breath, hands clenching and unclenching around the bouquet, “The radio reminds me of my home so far away...” Keith sighed out harshly, recognizing the lyrics.

“And driving down the road I get a feeling...” Krolia closed her eyes tightly, “That I should have been home yesterday... yesterday...” She bowed her head and fell silent, Keith put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed until he could feel the shape of her arm through the padding of her armor. There were a lot of things he could say, maybe things he should say. But Keith was a delicate balance of DNA and the amalgamation of two stubborn individuals who knew how to speak in silences, who had never needed to say their 'I love yous' out loud to each other. He knew that his presence alone said everything that was needed, loud and clear. They were together. They were home.

**SIX MONTHS PREVIOUS ******

********

********

The Lions were on a pseudo auto-pilot as the Paladins slept, voices hoarse from songs and laughter. Coran and Krolia were the only ones still awake to make sure the Lions kept moving in formation in the correct direction. Open lines of communication between Blue and Black.

“Humans place a lot of import on songs, don't they?” Coran asked idly from Blue's pilot chair.

“Don't all cultures?” Krolia reiterated, scrolling through Black's star charts.

“Well yes but it seems that Humans can write a song about anything. I mean I'm A Little Teapot? Incredible...”

“Humans are one of the more vocal people I've encountered.” Krolia said, “Their range is almost as wide as the Galra.” She tapped a few more keys before leaning back in the seat, “I did some research while I lived there. Humans are incredibly sensitive to sound frequencies. Some of their older surviving cultures have even been able to manipulate those frequencies to affect other humans. Being able to harmonize multiple vocals to reverberate so low it stabilizes brain activity.”

“Now why would an operative sent to find the Blue Lion bother herself with learning these facts?” Coran asked, perching his chin on his hands. Krolia looked away.

“There wasn't much to do out in the desert.” She said grumpily, “Keith's father had a job with local emergency management and was working a lot of the time. All I really had during patrols and watch was the radio and an internet connection.”

“Is that how you learned all those songs?” 

“Some...” Krolia said, leaning back in the chair, “Most of them I learned by singing along with them. Earth had some amazing writers in their day. Especially around the area we were living in.”

“And you sang those to Number Three in turn, I take it. He seemed to know all the ones you sang.” Coran hummed, flicking some invisible lint off of his jacket sleeve.

“Do you want me to sing to you Coran?” Krolia asked teasingly, drawing a knee up to her chest. Coran huffed and chuckled.

“You have a very nice voice.” He said, “And hearing nice things may make them all sleep better.”

“Honestly I never learned any proper human lullabies.” Krolia admits, “All the songs I sing are just ones that I heard off the radio while I was pregnant. Keith seemed to like them. But now that I remember them I realize that the majority of the ones I liked the most are sad songs. Or wistful. Generally bittersweet.”

“I'll take anything that helps pass the time. And the darkness.” Coran admitted, “I'll even take the sad songs if it helps us fly any faster.”

“Time is a construct and space is endless.” Krolia reminded, “Songs will only distract for so long.”

“Isn't that the truth...” Coran sighed. Krolia tilted her head back against the seat, staring up at the stars through the projected imagery of Black's eyes. There was silence for a long while. Coran lost in his own thoughts as well.

The song Krolia ended up singing was indeed, sad. It was about changing eras, changing technologies. Passing new things on to the young while the old tried to cling tight to what once was. Full of symbolism the Krolia seemed to ignore, filling the chorus with passion. Taken literally it did make a bit of sense. And fit quite nicely into where they were now. Keith was a citizen of Earth, and by extension, so was Krolia. The Blade always talked about how home was a concept for the ones they freed, never for themselves. As Krolia's voice wavered with longing, Coran was satisfied to find that the Blade were wrong. Krolia did have a home. Coran hoped that one day, maybe, it could be home too.

“Good morning, America, how are you? Don't you know me? I'm your native son. I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans, and I'll have gone five hundred miles before the day is done...”


End file.
